Author Notes:Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley we were blessed to have an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. In our yard we had grapefruit, orange, lime and tangerine trees, plus a peach and many pecan trees. My dad would squeeze OJ for us and my mom made grapefruit wine. This cake is adapted from Gourmet Magazine's Citrus Chiffon Cake. It's moist and light with subtle flavors of both the grapefruit and mint. —nannydeb

Food52 Review: WHO: nannydeb is a former restaurant manager (slash waitress, bartender, and more) from Austin, TX.
WHAT: A citrus-kissed cake that has a gloriously soft crumb, topped with a mint-flecked glaze.
HOW: It's as simple as stirring the wet ingredients into the dry and adding stiffly-beaten egg whites, plus the glaze needs just a bowl and a spoon.
WHY WE LOVE IT: The cake's pillowy texture and heady grapefruit flavor contrasts with the crunchy-sweet mint glaze for a cake we'll look forward to at breakfast and dessert alike. —The Editors

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Serves 10-12

2
cups cake flour

1 1/2
cups granulated sugar, divided

2
teaspoons baking powder

1/2
teaspoon salt

6
eggs, separated

2/3
cup canola oil

2/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon
fresh grapefruit juice, divided

2
teaspoons lemon zest

2
teaspoons vanilla

1
teaspoon cream of tartar

1 1/2
cups powdered sugar

1
teaspoon fresh mint, minced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 10 inch bundt pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together egg yolks, oil, 2/3 cup grapefruit juice, lemon zest and vanilla. Mix this mixture into the flour mixture until smooth.

In yet another large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until it forms soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar one tablespoon at a time and beat until it forms stiff peaks.

Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter and spoon it into the prepared cake pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden and tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then invert it onto the serving plate. Set aside to cool completely.

For the icing, combine the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon grapefruit juice and mint. Add powdered sugar and/or juice to get the consistency you want. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake and serve.

Made the cake yesterday as our tree is just bursting with fruit. I have to say one of the nicest cakes I've ever had. Eggs were from our chooks so it had a lovely yellow colour and mint from the garden. :) so fluffy

Made this last night and it was GREAT. The eggs folded in make the cake so unbelievably moist and bouncy :-) Love the hint of grapefruit. I think I will add a little more juice next time for a stronger hint.

Just made this - delicious. Used a combo of orange and lemon juice as I didn't have any grapefruit. About to make the frosting! Thank you for a great and easy recipe!

BTW, I didn't have cream of tartar so I added about two teaspoons of lemon juice to the egg whites before beating them. I also started the process with (Step 4) whipping the egg whites and then mixing the flour and other liquids together.

It wasn'teasy to get my cake out of the bundt but in the end, it was ok, save for one broken bit which i eagerly ate up. Thank you,

Refreshing; really light grapefruit flavor. I was worried when I saw how much batter it made, and when it expanded so much in the oven, but it compressed down to normal size once I let it rest on the cooling rack for a while. I also had to use much more than 1 tbsp of grapefruit juice to make the icing pourable. Great recipe.

Hi nannydeb, I've been meaning to let you know I made this for an all day party and we enjoyed it for breakfast!! It is such a lovely cake. I did not have lemon so subbed lime and grapefruit zest and it was delicious. Thank you for the recipe!

We had this today at out post race potluck - it is fantastic! Me, Hardlikearmor, Nannydeb, Arielleclementine, Helenthenanny, Kaupilimakoa, Mr L, TiminA, and Bethy, and Sophie and Henry The Great!!! all agree - DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEElicious!!! (oh and Ginger too!!)

This cake is absolutely delicious! I have never had a cake with grapefruit before and its wonderful. I love the mint in the glaze. The texture is perfect. A fantastic recipe and a big hit with everyone, even the kids.

Was looking for something to take to a potluck tonight...love food52 and there was your beautiful cake just waiting for me. It's in the oven right now. Had everything on hand except for the mint (um, sort of crucial!) but I made candied grapefruit peel at Christmas and have that. My plan: finely cut the candied grapefruit peel and sprinkle on top of glaze. Thanks nannydeb!